The present invention relates to a pedestrian support system, and more particularly to a pedestrian support system that uses a non-contact tag to support the movement of pedestrians.
A pedestrian support system that uses a non-contact tag to support the movement of a pedestrian has been proposed. This first form of related art (Japanese patent application JP2004-309305A) is a pedestrian support system that is capable of guiding a pedestrian by placing tags that contain direction information on a road surface, and having a non-contact reader that is in the possession of the pedestrian read these tags. This pedestrian support system comprises: (1) a plurality of tags that have an information storage means and that are placed in a linear or planar arrangement on a road, (2) a tag reader that is in the possession of a pedestrian and that is capable of non-contact communication with the tags, and (3) a guidance means that provides information from the tag reader to the pedestrian.
A second form of related art (Japanese patent application JP2006-163655A) is an evacuation guidance system that, in times of emergency, through performing radio communication with cellular phones by using leakage coaxial cable, is capable of providing the most suitable evacuation guidance. This evacuation guidance system comprises: (1) leakage coaxial cable that, together with being installed in facilities such as underground passages, is mounted with IC tags at appropriate intervals, (2) an evacuation guidance device that is connected to the leakage coaxial cable and handles trouble in times of emergency, and (3) a cellular telephone device with an emergency drive feature that enables radio communication with the evacuation guidance device via the IC tags and leakage coaxial cable. During an emergency, evacuation guidance is possible by performing radio communication between the evacuation guidance device and cellular telephone via the IC tags and leakage coaxial cable.
A third form of related art (Japanese patent application JP2005-167863A), is a guidance system that guides a user through the use of IC tags, and comprises a user terminal with a built-in IC tag communication device, and a plurality of access terminals that are located in a scattered arrangement at specified locations, wherein an access terminal comprises an IC tag that performs close-range radio communication with the user terminal and a control device that controls the transmission and update of information that is stored in the IC tag by performing communication with a server system over a specified communication line. The server system transmits guidance information to a specified access terminal that was selected from among the plurality of access terminals, then the selected access terminal stores the transmitted guidance information in the IC tag of that access terminal and the user terminal receives the guidance information from that IC tag by performing close-range radio communication with the IC tag of the selected access terminal.
The pedestrian support system of the first form of related art has IC tags that are located in a linear or planar arrangement on a road surface, so when signboards or parked bicycles are lined along a sidewalk, a signal from a tag or a signal to a tag may become blocked by these objects and it will be impossible to perform normal communication between that tag and a tag reader. Therefore, the support system is limited in its use when supporting a handicapped person, particularly, a person with poor eyesight.
The second form of related art requires the installation of leakage coaxial cable as an information transmission means, and installation over a large area such as a road would be extremely costly, and thus would be very difficult to accomplish.
The third form of related art provides information from a plurality of access terminals that are dispersed at specified locations to a user terminal via IC tags, but does not support the movement of a pedestrian, and particularly a pedestrian with poor eyesight.